The Information Based Medicine Program draws together 33 researchers and 15 research students from the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Health and Calvary Mater Newcastle, who are affiliated with the University’s Priority Research Centre in Bioinformatics, Biomarker Discovery and Information-Based Medicine.
The Information Based Medicine Program is led by Professor Rodney Scott and Professor Pablo Moscato from the University of Newcastle, and incorporates:
- NBN Telethon Fellowship in Children’s Cancer
- Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence in Bioinformatics
- HMRI Medical Physics Research Unit
- HMRI Clinical Trials Support Unit
The Information Based Medicine Program utilises computer technology and complex mathematical formulas in an effort to better understand the determinants of illness and responses to treatments, helping to pave the way for a personalised medicine approach to health care.
Bioinformatics offers a way to extract useful information from overwhelming amounts of data to identify patterns of disease that can be used to predict the risk of disease occurrence and an individual’s response to possible treatments. The research is currently focusing on the following research themes:
- Development of mathematical models based on Information Theory for Biomarker Discovery
- Molecular genetics of Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Macular Degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease and Stroke
- Genetics of susceptibility to infection, in particular SIDS, indigenous health and elite athletes
- Functional brain imaging in Stroke and Schizophrenia
- Mathematical models to improve radiation treatments for Cancer
HMRI is one of only two sites in Australia where bioinformatics is linked directly with clinical research practice. Many researchers working with the Information Based Medicine Program are also members of other HMRI research programs, forming unique research collaborations.
The Program is evaluating information collected from research groups around the world, as well as local data. The HMRI Medical Physics Research Unit, based at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, also uses complex mathematical algorithms applied to the delivery of radiation in the treatment of cancers. The researchers are investigating more effective ways to deliver precise radiation treatments.
The Clinical Trials Support Unit provides researchers with access to a team of statisticians and data-linkage specialists in data management, linkage and analysis, who assist with the design, statistical analysis and reporting of research trials.
